OAKLAND: A US jury on Monday (May 18) ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the artificial intelligence company not liable to the world's richest person for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity.

In a unanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, California, federal court said Musk had brought his case too late. The jury deliberated less than two hours.

The trial had widely been seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence generally, both in how it should be used and who should benefit from it.

The decision simplifies the path for OpenAI to proceed with a possible initial public offering that could value the business at US$1 trillion. But the public face of the company, Chief Executive Sam Altman, must also deal with any challenges to his reputation from some extremely personal testimony, including multiple witnes...